Here's what the bishops can teach the senators about handling sexual assault claims | Opinion

Updated Jan 29, 2019; Posted Sep 20, 2018

President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, for the third day of his confirmation hearing to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct when they were teenagers has come forward to The Washington Post. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Members of the U.S. Senate are making predictable mistakes responding to the claims of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh attempted to rape her when she was 15 years-old and he was 17 and drunk.

The senators would do well to take a page from the experiences of the Catholic bishops with child sex abuse over the last two decades.

Lesson number one is that it is no longer about them or their schedule. Once a victim emerges from the shadows, it is time to take her (or him) seriously and understand that their needs trump yours.

It is no longer about you.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, first was going to talk to her on the phone, and then when that was untenable in the public square, said she could speak to his Committee in person.

Fine, but then he arbitrarily set a ridiculous date of this coming Monday.

He didn't consult with her lawyers. What the bishops can tell him is that it's no longer about his desire to put a Republican on the Supreme Court; it's about sex assault.

The bishops can explain to him that pressuring the victims always backfires in this era.

The trauma that is inflicted on a victim means that it is difficult to come forward at all, let alone according to some rigid timeline.

It is patently obvious how important it is for victims to come forward when they are ready and to treat them with the respect owed them.

That is why the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis has triggered widespread statute of limitations reform. Grassley's actions so far look like bullying with a male superiority complex thrown on top. He needs to back off and let the timing be mutually determined.

Lesson number two is that investigations are your friend. Bishops tried to avoid anyone finding out what they knew about child sex abuse for decades with secret archives and clever, callous legal strategies.

Read the Pennsylvania Attorney General's grand jury report on six dioceses to see how that turned out.

If the Committee goes forward with a vote without having the FBI supplementing Kavanaugh's background check, and more evidence comes out in support of Dr. Ford or another victim of Kavanaugh or what sounds like an out-of-control culture at Georgetown Prep, they will look terrible.

Indeed, they will be responsible for making a huge error in judgment voting and confirming a candidate on less than full information. Take a deep breath and let the investigation go forward.

If the FBI is not charged with questioning under oath Ford, Kavanaugh, and Mark Judge at a minimum, Grassley and his committee will be the ones who are responsible for choosing ignorance, like so many of the Catholic bishops and priests over the years.

Lesson number three is that trust of another adult on the issue of child sex abuse is highly overrated.

Don't trust your instincts about someone who is alleged to have sexually abused a child, including a teen. There is no economic, race, or other criterion that marks someone who would do what Ford has described.

You don't know what happened.

Finally, don't expect other victims to materialize out of thin air minutes after the first brave victim steps forward. It takes years to come to terms with sex abuse and on average, victims come forward at age 52.

If you are assuming there are no other victims because you haven't heard from them yet, think again.

As others watch how Ford is being treated by the general public that has led her to go into hiding, Grassley's Committee and the President's incessant worrying over Kavanaugh's "suffering," they are being persuaded to never speak up.

With each step the Republicans have taken so far they might as well have taken out an ad telling anyone with evidence to shut up and hide. That makes the Senators look bad, not Ford.

If the bishops could impart their knowledge of these issues right now to the Senators, they could tell them the perils of the course so far chosen and tell Senators to slow down, and take this issue up with care and the assistance of the best investigators in the United States, the FBI.

Otherwise, they will pay a price. The bishops have the experience to speak authoritatively about the perils the senators now face.

Marci A. Hamilton is the Robert A. Fox Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania and the CEO and Academic Director of CHILD USA. She writes from Philadelphia.

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.